Hero
by DaPokemonMadster
Summary: "'It's Halloween, silly' He giggled. Yang stared. To say she was not in the mood to smile at children and pass out sweets would be a massive understatement." Oneshot!


**A/N: Aha, look who wrote something! Well, I got this idea in my head during a class today, and I just couldn't rest until I got it written down. I really wanted to get it done for Halloween, so I apologize that it's so short and a little rushed! But hey, I got it done with roughly half an hour to spare before Halloween ends, so I'd say it was worth it. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, it is the property of the late Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth productions.**

A knock on the front door sent Yang sitting bolt upright. The sky was getting dark outside, and she knew for a fact that Taiyang was passed out on the couch in the living room. So who could possibly be…? Cautiously, she slipped out from her room, tossing on the nearest hoodie, and reaching for an old baseball bat that Ruby had left by the door years ago and had never put away. She leaned the bat against her leg, and placed her hand on the doorknob, turning it slowly. She peeked around the corner, and into the red eyes of a very small Beowulf.

"What the hell-" She growled, grabbing for the bat.

"Trick or Treat!" Said the Beowulf, happily lifting it's head to reveal the face of a small boy beaming up at her from under a mask.

"...What?" Yang asked, dumbfounded.

"It's Halloween, silly!" He giggled. Yang stared. To say she was not in the mood to smile at children and pass out sweets would be a massive understatement.

"Did I scare you?" The small child asked, innocently.

"No. Just… I forgot what day it was." She grumbled. It was the truth. Ever since the Fall of Beacon, she hadn't kept track of the days as they crawled by. She had found herself caught in a weird limbo, too plagued by nightmares to sleep, and never wanting to be awake since it forced her to remember she was living one. Everything had just… melted into a big pool of misery and pain. Speaking of… she caught the kid's eyes wandering to unwanted places, fixing on the limp right sleeve of her hoodie. She turned away slightly, trying to hide her arm, or lack thereof.

"So, um… do you have any candy? I-I wouldn't have come all the way out here, but there were signs all over town saying that the Xiao Long place would be loaded…" He said sheepishly.

" _Dammit_ , dad…" Yang muttered under her breath. Of course he would pull something like this. Halloween was one of his favorite holidays, and Yang supposed he didn't want to let it slip by unnoticed. He'd always loved helping Yang and Ruby with their costumes each year. She eyed the kid. He was shifting uncomfortably back and forth, as if realizing he had come at a bad time, and shivering in the cool night air.

"Well… I think my dad's asleep, but the candy's probably on the kitchen counter. Where are your parents?" She asked.

"They're coming. I ran ahead, because I was so excited!" He gave her a tiny grin, that for some inexplicable reason reminded her of Ruby. Yang weighed her options. Part of her wanted to tell him to shoo, and slam the door in his face. But the caring, sisterly part of Yang was irrepressible.

"Probably not a smart idea to be running around on your own at night. Especially in times like these. I guess… why doncha come in for a bit. Just until your parents get here. You can have all the candy you want, I doubt anybody else is dumb enough to come all the way out here." Yang sighed, immediately wondering if she'd regret such a spur-of-the-moment decision.

"Thank you!" The boy said, charging inside without hesitation. Yang gritted her teeth, and followed him in. He was staring around the residence with wide eyes, but she tapped him on the shoulder headed for the kitchen. He followed behind her. On the way there, the two of them passed Taiyang, sprawled on the couch. He had spilled a bowl of popcorn over himself, and was snoring uproariously. The kid giggled at the sight, and Yang couldn't help a faint hint of a smile from flitting across her face. Tai wore himself out, just trying to make her smile again.

"What's your name, kid?" She said as they reached the kitchen. As Yang suspected, there were two giant bags of candy lying in plain sight on the kitchen table.

"Benny!" Came the cheery answer.

"Benny, why don't you take a seat at the table and I'll get these bags open for us. My name's-"

"You're Yang Xiao Long, right?" He all but whispered. Yang whipped around. Benny was looking at her with… was that… awe?

"How'd you know that?" She said, fist clenching. He shrugged.

"My mom said we couldn't afford to go to Vale for the Vytal tournament this year, but I watched it all on tv from home. I was rooting for Team RWBY, since two of the members were from Patch, but my favorite was Yang Xiao Long! The fiery huntress who knocked all her enemies down with fists of fury!" Benny leapt up and shot a few experimental punches in the air, looking absolutely ridiculous in the furry Beowulf costume, the mask bouncing up and down on his head, "I can't believe I'm finally getting to meet you…" He stopped and looked at Yang, concern suddenly written all over his features.

"A-are you okay…?" He asked timidly, for Yang had looked away, biting her lip.

"Fine." She managed, trying to occupy herself with opening the first bag of candy. She picked it up in her hand, and gripped it in her teeth, attempting to tear it open. Benny looked on morosely.

"D-do you… do you need any help.. with that?" He mumbled, shrinking in on himself. Yang dropped the bag and slammed her hand on the kitchen counter in frustration. Benny jumped.

" _No._ No, it's.. It's fine. There's a pair of scissors in here somewhere. … Stupid for not thinking of it earlier. Thanks for offering, though." She said, trying to control the shake in her voice. Benny nodded silently, gulping. Yang opened a drawer, fumbling around in it for the scissors. Finding them, she held them up and awkwardly managed to snip through the top of the candy bag that she had propped up against the wall. She grabbed the bottom and dumped the whole thing into a bowl, which she placed on the table before taking a seat opposite Benny.

"There you go." She said, not making eye contact with him. He reached out with a shaking hand, taking a piece of strawberry flavored candy from the very top. Again, Yang was strongly reminded of Ruby, and she blinked, feeling her eyes start to sting.

"What's your favorite kind?" The question caught Yang off guard, and she looked up, surprised.

"What?"

"What's your favorite kind?" Benny repeated, giving her another one of those innocent, wide-eyed looks. Yang had to stop and think.

"...I like chocolate. Any kind, really, but… milk chocolate is my favorite." She finally answered. He gave her an enormous smile.

"That's good! I don't really like chocolate, it makes my tongue feel all icky and smooth. I like the sugary stuff! So together we're a good pair, I bet we could eat this whole bowl together!" Before Yang could respond, he reached forward, rummaging around in the bowl before pulling something out and unwrapping it. He set it down on the table in front of Yang. It was a piece of milk chocolate. Yang felt her eyes sting again, but for a different reason. Immensely touched, she picked it up.

"So… I was your favorite, huh?" She said, popping the chocolate in her mouth with a genuine smile.

"Oh yeah! I just love your fighting style! You're so cool!" Benny jumped up again.

"I know a lot of people who'd disagree with that. Most people who watched the Tournament think I'm a pretty terrible person." Yang sighed, putting her elbow on the table and resting her head on her knuckles.

"I don't think so." Benny shook his head adamantly, "If you're talking about your disqualification, I think that was totally unfair!" He sounded out the word 'disqualification' as if he'd practiced it many times to get it right.

"It was the rules. No matter what _I_ saw, the world saw me attack an innocent student. They've already drawn their own conclusions." She said bitterly, "And most of the world hates me for it."

"Well… _I_ don't," Benny said, drawing himself up to his full height and puffing his little chest out, "and I watched that recording over and over! There's definitely something fishy about it, I know I saw some weird blur, or _something_! And especially since the Fall happened so quickly after…" He stopped, as if sensing he was reaching a sensitive topic, and his eyes unconsciously drifted to Yang's right sleeve again. Her left hand was gripping it tightly.

"You were… were you.. There?" He gulped, his voice suddenly impossibly soft. Yang swallowed back a lump, and gave a short nod. She could feel his unasked question floating in the air between them. _Is that how_ that _happened?_

"Yeah," she said hoarsely, "I was there. It was… awful. A lot of people got hurt bad. I don't really want to go into it." Her grip on her right sleeve tightened. His eyes were wide again.

"If you were there… that definitely makes you a hero." He said decisively, deciding not to pry any further. Yang looked up at him.

"I wouldn't exactly call myself a hero," She laughed humorlessly, "I tried to be, that's for sure. But see how well it turned out? She didn't even stick around to see me wake up…" Yang trailed off. Benny shrunk back, nervous and confused. When he spoke again, it was with all the tremorous courage of a young child.

"You're still _my_ hero." His sentence hit Yang like a ton of bricks. She gulped, her eyes stinging again, and her throat constricting. She couldn't bring herself to formulate an appropriate answer, so she settled for a grunt and a nod, and wiped her hand across her nose, sniffling deeply. He seemed to get the message though, because he beamed brightly once more. A knock suddenly sounded, and Benny nearly lept out of his costume.

"Oh! That must be my moms!" He gasped, jumping to his feet and stuffing his pockets with fistfuls of candy before racing for the door. Yang gave a watery smile. Kid hadn't been here more than an hour and he already ran around like he owned the place. She followed him more slowly, finding him at the door chatting animatedly with two women. They looked up at her approach. Yang had started getting used to the little shock she saw in people's' eyes when they first took in her appearance, but she hadn't seen such a gratified smile aimed at her in a long while.

"So you're Yang Xiao Long? It's so nice to finally meet you! I know Benny was so excited to come out and trick-or-treat at the Xiao Long house… thank you for taking care of him! And I'm sorry for the inconvenience! He does like to run ahead." The first woman said.

"Really, it was a pleasure." Yang said, and found herself meaning every word she uttered.

"Bye Yang! I hope I can come over again sometime!" Benny smiled, and waved enthusiastically, before charging out the door as quickly as he'd entered it.

…

Taiyang Xiao Long awoke with a yawn, and cursed under his breath at the sight of the popcorn that had spilled all over his chest. He sat up, brushing it off him, and glanced at the clock. He got a nasty shock when he saw how late it was. Leaping to his feet, he ran to the kitchen, where to his surprise, he found his daughter.

"Did any trick-or-treaters come by?! Oh my goodness, I promised all the kids candy and then I feel asleep-"

"Only one came." Yang cut him off.

"Still! I should've been awake, I didn't mean to disappoint them all…" Tai clapped a hand to his forehead, mortified.

"Dad, don't worry. I got him his candy." Yang reassured him.

"Y-you did?" Tai gasped. And his daughter gave him a genuine smile for the first time in months.

"Yeah. He was a big fan. Called me a hero."

And then, Tai thought, maybe it was a good thing he had dozed off after all.

 **A/N: I'm just filled with Yang feels right now so.. just take it augh. And reviews are very much appreciated if you enjoyed it!**


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